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Article THE LIFE OF THE LATE MR. JOHN PALMER, Page 1 of 8 →
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The Life Of The Late Mr. John Palmer,
THE LIFE OF THE LATE MR . JOHN PALMER ,
THE COMEDIAN .
T \/ rP- PALMER made his entree on the . great stage of the world - - - in the parish of St . Luke , Old Street . His father was a private in the Guards , and served in Germany under the Marquis of Granby , who recommended him as a bill-sticker and door-keeper to Druryr Lane Theatre : the latter office he filled until his death , which happened a few years ago . His father was anxious that his son should enter the army ; but
he was so much inclined towards the drama , that he waited upon Mr . Garrick , and rehearsed part of George Barnwell and Mercutio , in hopes of an engagement at Drury-Lane Theatre . The" li . 'tle Roscius said , that he had a great regard for him , and could not think of encouraging his propensity , as he was not at all qualified to shine in a theatre . As he had known him from an infant , he advised him to accept of a small appointment in the army , which had been procured' through the interest of Mr . Legrand , then governor to the Dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland ; but this he declined .
As he was now of an age when it was proper to direct his attentions to some settled pursuit in life , he turned his thoughts towards that of a painter . He was some time with the master of the printshop in Ludgate-Kiil , opposite the Old Bailey ; and at the end of a season his father had part of a benefit , at which Jack spoke - ' Bucks , have at ye all ' . ' which was his first -public introduction . He then got a small engagement , but was discharged for ill behaviour .
He was introduced by a friend to Mr . Foote , at that time making . preparations to open the Little Theatre in the Haymarket , with Morning Lectures ; who , after hearing him rehearse , observed , that his Tragedy was damned bad , but that his Comedy might do ; and accordingly engaged him , principally to perform Harry Scamper , an Oxford Scholar , in his new piece of the Orators . The first representation of this piece met with some disapprobation , from a very whimsical circumstance . It opens with Harry Scamper and Will- in one of the green boxes ; the former of whom
declares great impatience to see his girl , Poll Blazey , at the Shakspeare . The audience never dreaming that this was part of the entertainment , called loudly to turn those noisy fellows out of the boxes ; but on . Foote's coming forward and clearing up the mistake , they were most bountiful in their applause . The judgment of Foote was as acute as the stage has ever known ; it penetrated the faculties with a glance . His decision the
upon merits of John Palmer remained ever after correct ; for Tragedy , except in few instances , he had no qualifications . Where he excelled in the hi gher Muses' train , the characters have a similarity with the comic manner . Stitkely is .-but a graver Surface . But the dearth of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of The Late Mr. John Palmer,
THE LIFE OF THE LATE MR . JOHN PALMER ,
THE COMEDIAN .
T \/ rP- PALMER made his entree on the . great stage of the world - - - in the parish of St . Luke , Old Street . His father was a private in the Guards , and served in Germany under the Marquis of Granby , who recommended him as a bill-sticker and door-keeper to Druryr Lane Theatre : the latter office he filled until his death , which happened a few years ago . His father was anxious that his son should enter the army ; but
he was so much inclined towards the drama , that he waited upon Mr . Garrick , and rehearsed part of George Barnwell and Mercutio , in hopes of an engagement at Drury-Lane Theatre . The" li . 'tle Roscius said , that he had a great regard for him , and could not think of encouraging his propensity , as he was not at all qualified to shine in a theatre . As he had known him from an infant , he advised him to accept of a small appointment in the army , which had been procured' through the interest of Mr . Legrand , then governor to the Dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland ; but this he declined .
As he was now of an age when it was proper to direct his attentions to some settled pursuit in life , he turned his thoughts towards that of a painter . He was some time with the master of the printshop in Ludgate-Kiil , opposite the Old Bailey ; and at the end of a season his father had part of a benefit , at which Jack spoke - ' Bucks , have at ye all ' . ' which was his first -public introduction . He then got a small engagement , but was discharged for ill behaviour .
He was introduced by a friend to Mr . Foote , at that time making . preparations to open the Little Theatre in the Haymarket , with Morning Lectures ; who , after hearing him rehearse , observed , that his Tragedy was damned bad , but that his Comedy might do ; and accordingly engaged him , principally to perform Harry Scamper , an Oxford Scholar , in his new piece of the Orators . The first representation of this piece met with some disapprobation , from a very whimsical circumstance . It opens with Harry Scamper and Will- in one of the green boxes ; the former of whom
declares great impatience to see his girl , Poll Blazey , at the Shakspeare . The audience never dreaming that this was part of the entertainment , called loudly to turn those noisy fellows out of the boxes ; but on . Foote's coming forward and clearing up the mistake , they were most bountiful in their applause . The judgment of Foote was as acute as the stage has ever known ; it penetrated the faculties with a glance . His decision the
upon merits of John Palmer remained ever after correct ; for Tragedy , except in few instances , he had no qualifications . Where he excelled in the hi gher Muses' train , the characters have a similarity with the comic manner . Stitkely is .-but a graver Surface . But the dearth of